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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23964586">happy accidents</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/CrystallizedInsomniac'>CrystallizedInsomniac (orphan_account)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shall We Date?: Obey Me!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Emotionally Compromised, Exactly What It Says on the Tin, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Gender-neutral Reader, Non-Consensual Blood Drinking, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possessive Behavior, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Vampire Hunters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:22:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,517</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23964586</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/CrystallizedInsomniac</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"You've been barred from partaking in hunting, you <i>know</i> this." </p><p>"Well good thing I came here for non vampire-hunting related reasons then," not that it's believable given you pulled a knife on Luke not too long ago. "It's not my fault these fuckers are everywhere, don't blame me for being cautious."</p><p>or; mc is an ex-vampire hunter and solomon is one elusive vampire.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Main Character/Solomon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Solomon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>99</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>happy accidents</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>title comes from the song <b>happy accidents</b> by <b>saint motel</b>.</p><p>before we get into it, some things:<br/>- mc smokes, unhealthy coping mechanism right there. also the swearing, god. so much of it.<br/>- not well-versed in whatever constitutes the vampire "canon" lore, so i'm just making it up as i go.<br/>- it's not as dark as the tags make it out to be but I have to include them so you guys know what you're getting into.<br/></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite many hunters wanting to turn a blind eye to the facts, there are <em>a lot</em> of similarities between hunters and vampires. It's simple biology really. For as long as life has existed on earth, humans have had to learn how to adapt. When their enemies and source of food consisted mainly of animals, it became eat or be eaten. When vampires showed up, it soon became adapting to <em>them</em>. There's no point in fighting what you don't know, so humans learned, and they take, and so they adapt.</p><p>It's basic information, the type of stuff they teach you when you're young and malleable. It's the information that helps the guild separate you from the "lost-causes" group and puts you into the "might have a chance" group. You've started to see the world in two categories: What hunters knows, and what hunters don't know. </p><p>You learn that vampires move in clans. They are never alone, they are <em>social</em>. It isn't because they lack the strength to defend themselves but because it simply <em>is.</em> It makes it harder to spot them out in public, especially in college towns where everyone is buddy-buddy with each other and having out in big groups of people. Hunters also move in groups of three, because doing so otherwise would be reckless, and stupid, and deadly.</p><p>Vampires look like humans. They always do, until they don't, and by the time you can realize this it might just be a bit too late. They're usually attractive, unfairly so. The type to smile warmly at you from across the bar and make you reconsider if you'll really go home tonight to an empty bed even though you swore you would stop trying to pick guys up in a bar in order to starve of your loneliness, or your boredom or ( and he's alone. No one in sight. The thought of it makes your stomach flutter ) — so human. Very friendly too.</p><p>Their eyes tend to be a giveaway, shining too bright in dark spaces, it's captivating.</p><p>Vampires don't need permission to enter places. You're not sure where that had even come from, but the guild cuts that idea out of everyone fairly young. It's dangerous, is what it is. Vampires don't yield to fictional rules that humans have created in order to rest better at night. They're not like demons, they don't need your consent. They'll take, it's what they do. ( Except for when they do ask, except for when <em>he</em> does ask ).</p><p>Vampires don't have shadows. This, your guild leaders will instill from the very beginning, is <em>important</em>. It is the most glaring detail that can let you know who is human, and who is not. The problem is that vampires have this unsettling ability to make you not question it. You will look at their lack of shadow — if it even comes to mind — and your mind will draw blanks, you <em>know</em> something is wrong, but your mind will not be able to process it.</p><p>Very few hunters are known to be able to break away from that trance, but the number is too high that vampires have resorted to move to places where it's unlikely to be sunny all days of the week. Naturally, hunters tend to reside in these places, and much like vampires, they <em>too</em> do not posses a shadow.</p><p>Vampires can be wounded. They can be hurt with guns, and knives. ( They can be hurt by words, they can be hurt by loneliness ). Hunters are not exempt.</p><p>Vampires bleed red. </p><p>Vampires can die. </p><p>And then there are the things hunters don't know — aren't<em> supposed</em> to know; like the fact that it's white roses, freshly cut, that won't allow vampires closer to you ( "they're there for if I ever were to hurt you" ), or the fact that garlic doesn't do shit to them in the slightest ( a smile, amused and self-deprecating. "It's easier to make your kind believe whatever helps you guys sleep at night," ) that vampires don't drink to kill but they <em>will</em> if they have to.</p><p>Which, have fun explaining that to the family of the deceased. <em>Surely</em> that'll go well.</p><p>Vampires are possessive creatures, which is why no one that has been bitten or worse, <em>claimed</em>, has ever been seen "alive" again. It's rare, extremely so in fact, that when it does happen the guilds don't even bother organizing a search party. Everyone in the job knows what the job description entails from the get-go. If you're lucky, they kill you on the spot or drain you completely of your blood.</p><p>If you're unlucky, they whisk you away into the night and into the unknown. </p><p>Even more rare is seeing a familiar face among them. A lost-friend, a companion you thought to be dead. But they never hear you call out their names, they never look alive really. An empty shell of their former self. </p><p>What hunters don't know; is that you can be <em>turned</em>, it's not common and it takes a lot of power and only rarely will vampires do it. It starts with a bite, but it doesn't end there.</p><p>( You don't know what the process is like, you don't think you'll ever know what it's like. )</p><p>You used to wonder what that would feel like — barely twelve and hands covered in blood as you picked up your friend's corpse and dragged it with you back home, a sharp ringing in your ears that dulled everything else around you — being left behind, your body left to rot on the floor in the hands of night creatures. Your group leader had screamed at you about being so reckless, bringing back a <em>bitten</em> corpse to camp, endangering everyone else.</p><p>That's another misconception: vampires can't bring back the dead. They can't control the dead either, which is fine, given the fact that corpses rot and they smell.</p><p>( That's another thing; Vampires are very susceptible to scents. )</p><p>What they can do however, is take someone and strip them of their <em>will.</em></p><p>Which might as well be the same thing really, except for the fact that you know it's not like that.</p><p>Not really.</p><p>( "Why would you ever want to leave?" )</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ovegar is a small town, secluded from civilization enough that no one really thinks of it when you're asked what would the perfect vacation town is. The population is a measly six-hundred, bar the college students that live in it given that their university campus is a few miles away from town. It's the type of place one goes when they want to disappear. </p><p>Lucifer, you can't help but think, did a great job at picking the place if his intentions <em>were</em> to disappear. His brothers had said kidnapping, but you've been following his footsteps across the country now for the better part of a month, and it's starting to look more like he meant to leave.</p><p>Lucky for you, it is also the type of place where the townsfolk know the new faces that enter the town. So after weeks of dead-ends, managing to track Lucifer's last whereabouts to a place where people are willing to let you know that <em>yes, </em><em>that young man has been around here </em>and <em>no, he hasn't left yet </em>is honestly godsend. </p><p>You've only been at the detective business for less than half a year, a career change that came from your inability to rejoin normal society given your particular upbringing. Tracking people, you have come to realize, is not at all that different from hunting. It's still the same type of danger when it comes to meeting new people — people that don't want to be found — and tracking them down, you never know just how deep in shit they're involved in if they're running. There's just a lot less danger of the biting kind.</p><p>It's not as rewarding, you think. But sometimes you like to think it's due to the fact that all you've been doing your whole life is tracking and killing vampires, there's just <em>something</em> exciting about trapping one, and ending them before they can hurt another person.</p><p>You don't like to think too much about it, and even now as you walk across town with your muddy boots leaving a trail behind you, hands in the pockets of your leather jacket fiddling with the serrated knife in there, you can't help but force yourself to stop looking down, looking for things you're no longer affiliated with. </p><p>You've been here for less than two weeks now, having had arrived at the dead of the night in town after taking a forty-eight hour bus cramped between an old lady and a young woman with a <em>very</em> charming smile. She had given you her phone number, tucked inside your bag with a wink as the two of you bid your goodbyes at the last stop. </p><p>As it stands, you know that Lucifer tends to stay in places for a couple of weeks before moving on to his next location. You haven't been able to catch up to the man yet, and you're pretty sure that he's bound to find out someone is looking for him soon enough. But for now, you decide to do a thorough mapping of the town for as long as your legs let you go.</p><p>You stop by a family-owned grocery store at some point. There's a friendly elderly couple behind the counter that waves at you the minute you step inside the store, and do not stop looking at you until you duck into one of the aisles. Your bag is fairly weightless on your shoulders, carrying only a couple of jeans and shirts and underwear, as well as some money to pay for a motel room.</p><p>The guild never pays for housing, not even on missions. They shouldn't take less than three days, and hunters can go three days without needing a roof over their heads. By the third day the job should've been done.</p><p>When you get everything you were meaning to buy — a water bottle, your favorite candy, and a pack of instant ramen — you step up to the counter and give the couple a small smile. </p><p>"Sweetheart, have we met before?" The old lady's voice is sweet and reminds you a lot about your own grandmother. You feel some of the tension in your shoulders leave.</p><p>Right.</p><p>"No, I'm just passing by. It's my first time here in town," you give her a small smile. Your eyes flicker to the old man, who you are assuming is her spouse. He's the one scanning your items, bagging them up. </p><p>He sniffs, and his brown eyes flicker towards your form. "You sure? I think we've seen you here before."</p><p>You shake your head. "No, definitely." and then because this is the first time you've had any sort of conversation with people that doesn't involve asking questions, you add; "But I <em>am</em> planning on staying for a little bit, so maybe you <em>will</em> be seeing me more."</p><p>"I sure hope so, you'd fit right back in." The woman says.</p><p>You don't know what to say to that, and the man is taking forever ringing up what is only like four items. The silence stretches on, and the knife in your pocket feels heavy.</p><p>The door to the store opens up with a jingle, and you very deliberately do not jump, even if you did get startled. When you turn around, you see a couple of teenagers walk in, they spare you a brief glance, and some of them wave at the couple behind the register.</p><p>When you turn around again, the man has bagged up your stuff. The woman is nowhere to be seen. </p><p>"Will that be all?" The man asks. He's looking at you, but not exactly at you. It takes you a second to realize he's staring at your neck, and your hand instantly comes up to pull the scarf upwards.</p><p>"Yeah, actually. How much for the cigarettes?"</p><p>You end up buying those, and a lighter as well. Habit has you flicking it open and using it in the store. It occurs to you that the story is barely illuminated, and the constant cloudiness is not making the situation any better. The fire casts a faint shadow of your hand on the counter. </p><p>You feel eyes on your back.</p><p>You give the man a small smile, fasten the scarf tighter around your neck, and you walk out.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>You don't head straight back to the motel after you leave the grocery store. You go to the only bank in town, where the only pair of tellers inside the place tell you that they haven't seen the man in the picture today at all. Then you head towards the town's library, a fifteen minute walk that has you emptying half the bottle of water you bought. Asking people here proves to give you the same answer. At some point, it becomes alarmingly clear that no one is willing to answer your questions anymore.</p><p>Frustrated, you head towards an alley, tucked between the only arcade in the whole place, and a run-down building that you're assuming is some sort of warehouse. It does not escape your notice that people's eyes <em>linger</em> far after you've moved on asking from their group, to another group. </p><p>You take out your lighter from your pocket, take a cigarette out from the box and light it. You take a couple of puffs, exhaling the smoke through your nose. The nicotine doesn't do shit for you nowadays, but the action does calm you just the tiniest amount. There's a present tingle at the back of your throat, a burn that you welcome inside your nostrils. You lean back on the wall eyes closed, and relax.</p><p>There's not a lot of people out in the street right now, surprising given that it's a Friday evening — but you guess that's because the town doesn't seem like the party type. At least not this part, possibly more lively closer to the town's edge, where you saw a couple of night clubs at. </p><p>It's because of this that you're able to tell two things:</p><p>One: There's been someone following you for the last five days. No, scratch that — it's been far longer. You're not sure since when, but it's been present for so long now that you've just learned to ignore it.</p><p>Two: There is someone trying to sneak towards you.</p><p>In the span of a breath, you drop your cigarette to the ground and crush it under your heel. You lean off the wall and twist until you've grabbed the person by their shirt and you slam them against the wall. You catch a sight of blonde, short hair, and blue eyes widened in terror, but the adrenaline in your body is focusing on keeping the body pinned to the wall and keeping your knife pressed to their throat.</p><p>The person says your name, and <em>o</em><em>h fuck.</em></p><p>"What the—" You breathe out, close your eyes and sag against Luke. "What the fuck kid."</p><p>"Stop calling me kid!" It's a whine, but it sounds a bit deeper. You open your eyes, and reluctantly pull away from Luke. The knife in his throat follows soon after, and you very carefully keep it out. You take a step back. </p><p>"Were you following me?" It's the first thing that you ask, trying to understand just <em>how</em> and <em>why</em> Luke is here.</p><p>Luke rolls his eyes, something he hasn't done directed at you in what seems like <em>ages.</em> "I should be the one asking you that! You're not supposed to be here."</p><p>You clench your jaw. "You—"</p><p>Another person steps up inside the alley, and you're both relieved and upset about the turn of events. For one, Luke isn't here alone hunting, so he won't get hurt. But then that means that if they're both here, then that means they're hunting. <em>Fuck.</em></p><p>You haven't seen Simeon in ages, but he's unmistakable really — he's wearing his hunting uniform, all black and leather. The skin-tight suit with a higher collar is new, and when you look back at Luke, you notice that his uniform is also resembling Simeon's. </p><p>For some odd reason, you're feeling a bit too naked, with only your cotton scarf covering your neck. </p><p>"What are you doing here?" Simeon doesn't look too pleased with you right now, and all for good reason. Not for the first time you ask yourself the same question, what are you doing here? "You've been barred from partaking in hunting, you know this."</p><p>"Well good thing I came here for non vampire-hunting related reasons then," not that it's believable given you pulled a knife on Luke not too long ago. "It's not my fault these fuckers are everywhere, don't blame me for being cautious."</p><p>Simeon contemplates your answer, and you hate that. You hate the way the he looks at you now, the way he second guesses everything you say nowadays. Not that you guys talk much, but it's still there. That polite wall he puts up when he talks to others. </p><p>"Guild says you've been here for two weeks now."</p><p>And what. the. fuck.</p><p>"So what? You guys are just keeping tabs on me now?" You spit out, anger simmering under your skin. "It wasn't enough to kick me out, to leave me with <em>nothing?!"</em></p><p>Luke flinches, and he steps forward a hand stretched out. In the end he hesitates, and looks to the side. He's grown taller, almost reaching your height. <em>He's going to be taller than Simeon soon enough, if he ever makes it past fourteen. </em>"You <em>disappeared.</em>"</p><p>"But I came back!" </p><p>Luke opens his mouth to say something else, but Simeon raises a hand. The silver rosary wrapped around his wrist catches the light of the street lamp. Simeon doesn't show anything, like you, he's been at this job for far too long. His eyes do soften, if briefly. "You were compromised." and then, like it pains him to say it, "You probably still are."</p><p>"Fuck off." You finally grit out. "You guys don't.... you guys don't know what it was like. I was compromised then, but he — he let me go! I don't even know where the fucker is and —"</p><p>You trail off when you realize the way they're both staring at you. Your neck prickles with the feeling of being watched.</p><p>It never goes away.</p><p>Fuck, you realize how this sounds. You do, you really do. But it doesn't take away from the fact that it's the truth. </p><p>He had only kept you in that haze for the first week, you could've left at any time. <em>He </em>had told you as much. And you did leave. Eventually.</p><p>( When you had left with him, it had been a cold November. When you had knocked on Simeon's door, it was on a hot summer afternoon. )</p><p>You run a hand through your face, finally resting on your mouth. You look at Luke, at the hidden knives and the pure silver stakes carefully hidden on his person. There are scars on his hands that seem to have been recent. Then you look at Simeon, the dark bags under his eyes. They haven't been sleeping. </p><p>"How long?" You finally ask, and it's Simeon that answers you.</p><p>"A day."</p><p>Okay. You can... you can work with this. "I'm not." You swallow, and then motion towards your backpack. "I'm not here hunting, really. I uh, I kinda took up detective work."</p><p>Luke's eyes brighten in a way that reminds you just how young he is, "That's so cool!"</p><p>Despite yourself, you find yourself blushing. The kid always has a way to make you feel embarrassed. "Kid, you hunt vampires for a living. It's not that different, trust me."</p><p>"It's safer though," Luke says. </p><p>Well, yeah. He has a point. "My case is... I've been tracking down this guy, Lucifer, for the better part of almost three months now. I don't know what the fuck he's doing but uh — he's been here for a little while."</p><p>You haven't seen Lucifer in the last three days actually. Since you started asking at least, you're pretty sure he's already caught up on the fact that <em>someone </em>is looking for him. He hasn't skipped town though, you would know that at least. Which means someone is hiding him.</p><p>And then you realize that maybe Simeon and Luke are the reason why no one is willing to answer your questions. You don't mention this to them, but a part of you feels like going off on them for ruining your investigation.</p><p>Hunters don't hide themselves, they're not supposed to. Why should they, if vampires get to hang around humans freely, then so can they.</p><p>( Let them <em>know</em> that they're being watched )</p><p>Simeon and Luke share a look. You cross your arms over your chest.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Guild sent us here looking for Morningstar as well." </p><p>Because of course they <em>fucking</em> did. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ovegar is small. Ovegar is constantly cloudy. In Ovegar the sun comes out maybe twice a week and it's constantly cold enough to warrant wearing a jacket and a scarf. </p><p>The thing is, try as you might, you can't help but feel like something is off about the town. It's too ingrained in you, and your weariness keeps on growing when you come to realize that everyone here walks in pairs. You had forced yourself to ignore it.</p><p>Except that, now that you know Simeon and Luke are here and they're <em>hunting</em>, it's difficult to ignore the fact that the town feels off because even without counting, you're pretty sure half the population in Ovegar is composed of vampires. </p><p>You're not here on vampire hunting business. You're not equipped for it, and you're not... you're not legally allowed to, anyways. </p><p>You came here to find a missing <em>human</em>, ask some questions, and that's it.</p><p>Except that apparently now the missing human isn't a human and for some inexplicable reason, you feel like you've been set up. Somehow. </p><p>( "You've always been so clever, that's why I've liked you from the very beginning." )</p><p>"We're not supposed to give you this information." Simeon says, sitting down cross-legged on the bed. Right next to him, Luke is sprawled out on the bed, one arm shielding his eyes. If it weren't for the fact that he's been moving his fingers every five seconds, you would've thought he'd fell asleep.</p><p>As it stands, the three of you ended up making the trek back to your motel room. The room is big enough for three of you, and for once you're glad that the only room that was available seemed to be the one with two beds in it. It proves useful, given the fact that Luke and Simeon were probably going to just tough it out outside for the night. It's not anything new, and you don't doubt that they couldn't have handled it.</p><p>But your room is big enough, and you do miss your former teammates. You miss your friends.</p><p>Even if they seem wary of you. Even if they keep glancing at your neck.</p><p>"Well, I'm pretty sure you guys weren't supposed to be following me either," you roll your eyes and lean on the counter, crossing your ankles. </p><p>"I already said I'm sorry."</p><p>"I'm not mad, kid. Guild will be though."</p><p>Simeon and you ignore Luke's mumbled cursing.</p><p>After a beat of silence, Simeon speaks; "You said his brothers contacted you specifically to look for him, yet they didn't file a police report?"</p><p>You shrug, "Yeah. People are weird, I figured he got involved in some drug scandal, or something." It wouldn't be the first time, especially from the kids coming from rich families. Anything to not let the tabloids sink their claws into some family drama. "I just didn't expect this to be vampire business."</p><p>Simeon sighs.</p><p>"I'm not lying." You feel the odd need to defend yourself. </p><p>"I know."</p><p>"So why do you look like that?"</p><p>"Because I don't want to lose you again."</p><p>Oh.</p><p>You open your mouth, and then close it again. You're not really sure what to say to that. A normal person would have said something comforting, something like <em>You don't have to worry about me, I'm right here, I'm fine </em>but you can't promise that. At the end of the day, you're going to go back to living your new life, and Simeon and Luke will go back to Guild, waiting for a new mission.</p><p>You think of the elderly couple in the store.</p><p>"Right." You say awkwardly. "So why is Guild trying to hunt down Lucifer, again?"</p><p>"That's classified." Simeon says, and then after a second, meeting your eyes; "But we do need to find him."</p><p>You lower your eyelids, "what are you going to do once you find him?"</p><p>"Ask him some questions." Simeon's voice goes tight. To someone like Luke, who hasn't known Simeon since he was six years old, the change is barely noticeable. But it's so evident to you that you can't help the distrust that builds up inside of you.</p><p>"Right."</p><p>( "You can go, I won't stop you. You will always be welcome with us, <em>with me</em>. That's much more than they'll ever give to you." )</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Luke and Simeon end up tagging along with you the next day. They're still wearing their hunting clothes, much to your annoyance. They go over their plans for the day, and you tell them about yours. They make it very clear that you're not allowed to follow them, which is — fine.</p><p>But it's fine, really. You're not here to hunt anyone, you're here to find Lucifer. Luke had ended up caving in and saying that they're not only here for Lucifer, and he's not really a priority. They're here for someone more important, bigger. Lucifer would be a bonus, which is where you apparently come in. </p><p>The three of you end up sharing a booth at one of the three diners in the whole town, it's a little bit cramped and reminds you of that one time the three of you had been assigned to hunt down a family of vampires.</p><p>It had been Luke's first expedition and also his graduation exam. At the age of ten, Luke had become increasingly difficult to ignore among the trainees in the Guild, he was gifted. Michael had pulled you and Simeon aside, had hinted at your duo becoming a trio soon enough. </p><p>Luke is one of those hunters that isn't affected by the magic. He's a vampire tracker, and extremely good at that too. So you don't say anything about how uncomfortable you feel when he keeps glancing down at people's feet, trying to find a lack of shadow, and his blue eyes never waver. Not like yours do, or Simeon's. </p><p>The waitress is human, if Luke's shoulders easing from their tension is anything to go by.</p><p>"He frequents this club — <em>The Fall</em>, on Saturdays." You take a sip of your coffee while Luke eats. Simeon doesn't seem too interested in his food either, so he ends up nudging it towards Luke who happily takes it. </p><p>You can feel yourself showing how displeased you are at the fact that the kid is wolfing down the food. When was the last time he ate?</p><p>"You said you haven't seen him in almost a week though," Simeon raises an eyebrow.</p><p>"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he won't be there." You roll your eyes. </p><p>The diner is lively with chatter, and it's easy for your conversation to get drowned in the sea of voices. Every now and then you catch glances of different people, and they smile or nod at you. It's really friendly, and you have to stop yourself a couple of times from doing the same thing. You're not rude, you usually aren't.</p><p>But you also never go out of your way to return the friendly smiles, the fond way in which they look at you. Like you're family.</p><p>"MC," Simeon calls out your name, and when you turn to look at him, you find his face has turned harsh. His blue eyes focused on your neck, where your hand has been rubbing at it unconsciously. You curl your palm around it, fuck. You forgot your scarf today.</p><p>"I'm fine." You take a deep breath, and give them both a tight smile. You're aware of someone watching you and it's — it's too much. You pat your pockets, relieved when you find your pack of cigarettes and lighter in your pocket. "I'm going to go smoke, we can just... meet up. Later."</p><p>Simeon doesn't say anything, and Luke watches you go with a certain sadness in his eyes.</p><p>You pretend to not notice the way his eyes trail after you, always locked on your feet.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Oh sweetheart, you're back." </p><p>Today, the lady is alone behind the counter. Her husband is nowhere to be seen. The store is a bit more lively today, with a group of kids around Luke's age debating which candies to buy. You're not sure why you're here in the first place — you had meant to go out, have a smoke, and then investigate around, trying to see if you could find Lucifer somewhere. Your feet had carried you down to this store, like you've done the trip a million times before.</p><p>"That I am," you give her a soft smile, and then venture towards the counter. </p><p>She has in hand a cup of red wine, it's thick when she swirls it around, the glass is coated by the remnants of it when it settles at the bottom of the glass again. She's leaning on the counter, relaxed and happy. She motions with her cup, and you can't help but raise an eyebrow.</p><p>"Isn't it a little too early to be indulging in drinking?" </p><p>She hums, a glint to her eye that has you feeling unsettled because of how familiar it feels. "It is never too early to be drinking."</p><p>Right.</p><p>"Are you getting anything else today?" She asks after a few seconds. She doesn't sound impatient, and neither does she sound like she wants you out of the store. It's probably an attempt at small talk, and for some reason you're not too keen on looking at too closely — you realize with a start that you don't remember <em>why</em> you came here.</p><p>You just needed to get away from Simeon and Luke. Now that you're here, you're not even sure why that was.</p><p>"Hopefully not those foul cancer-sticks," the lady continues, the disapproval clear in her tone of voice. The way she wrinkles her nose. "He doesn't like them, you know."</p><p>You blink at her, you're missing something here. "I'm sorry... who?"</p><p>"Solomon, of course." She gives you a knowing smile, takes a sip of her drink. "But you already know that, don't you?"</p><p>"I—" It's suddenly harder to breath, and you're not sure <em>why</em>. The lady keeps on talking, you see her lips move but the words aren't quite reaching your ears. You take a step back from the counter, sway on your feet. The side of your neck is burning, it's aching it's—</p><p>You shut your eyes and walk forward. You stumble outside of the store, taking in big lungfuls of cold air. You walk and walk and walk, until you stop. You slide down a wall, you're not sure where you are.</p><p>"Fuck," you groan out and rub your face with the palm of your hand, harsh. Your other hand digs into your pockets and you throw the items out into the floor. Through your blurry vision, you make out on the floor your serrated knife, the lighter, the cigarettes, and then a simple silver cross. "Fuck, fuck fuck fuck — <em>Fuck!</em>"</p><p>You're not prepared for this shit. You really fucking aren't. </p><p>What you need to do is call Simeon and Luke and rat them out. Rat all of them out, <em>fuck them</em>.</p><p>What you need to do is call the brothers and tell them to fuck off, you're not doing this anymore.</p><p>( It hits you then, with clearness, that you've been <em>set up</em>. )</p><p>You can't... you can't —</p><p>( But you <em>can</em>, he said you would always be welcomed back. )</p><p>The bite marks on your neck <em>sing</em>, but that has nothing on the way your chest is hurting, because that's a name you haven't heard in <em>months.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>You leave the cross and the knife and the cigarettes and the lighter on the floor.</p><p>You don't need them. </p><p>Here's a thing hunters don't know; when a vampire lays claim on a human, they're a part of the clan. It's no longer a matter of who or what the human was before the claim, it's all about who they are afterwards. One of them. One of <em>us</em>.</p><p>( The smoking only starts a month after you leave him. You tell yourself, <em>he won't ask me to come back if I show him I'm not worth it. </em>What use is a human with bitter blood to a vampire? none.)</p><p>You've been compromised for a long time now. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The problem is that Solomon never asks you to come back.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>as always not beta read, when I have a plot bunny i either write it all in one go or it gets scrapped, life is hell. honestly i had too much fun writing all of this, and i'm sorry i'm leaving the actual solomon/mc interactions until the very next chapter, the boy is elusive, what can i say. </p><p>come yell at me on <a href="https://twitter.com/crystalbases">twitter</a>.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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